Sunday November 8, 01:08 AM

Source: Indian Express Finance

Not just an idiot box

By Raaj Dayal
On, first look I did not notice anything special in this 40 inch VU Television except that it looks beautiful in its glossy, piano-black finish, like many other LCD televisions available in the market. But a peep on the specifications and I realised that its no ordinary LCD TV. But it s a TV with an integrated PC (or Intelligent TV as the VU Technologies choose calls it). On a closer look at the configuration, it turned out to be a netbook with a gigantic display panel! Well, VU Intelligent TV is a full HD, LCD television with an integrated PC running on Windows XP Home edition and wireless keyboard-mouse and a remote. But first thing first! As a 40inch LCD TV, its better than the average LCD panels, has full HD resolution of 1920X1080 (1080p) with progressive scanning, 16:9 aspect ratio and native contrast ratio of 8000:1 (dynamic 50000:1). The matt finish LCD display panel is framed in a glossy black bezel with tapered edges. A transparent plastic strip that runs under the lower bezel with a LED in the middle (that lights up blue when powered on) gives it a very sleek and pleasant appearance. Though the speakers are placed on the lower front panel, but they lack the punch. The TV panel is mounted on a very sturdy but fixed base implying that you cannot rotate or tilt the TV to suite your viewing angle. But then with a wide viewing angle of 178, you will never require to move it. With full high definition resolution (1080p), very decent colour reproduction (16.7 million colour), 5ms response time, 500cd/m2 of brightness level and PIP mode, the LCD TV is as good as the most if not better in the range. The TV measuring 1002 x 112 x 674 mm (without base) doesn t look bulky despite its piggyback carrying a PC. Though the LCD TV stands-out in its class, but the integrated PC is very basic. With an Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 160GB of HDD space and Windows XP Home edition (thank god!) as preloaded OS, it s just good enough for web browsing, basic computing and gaming only. Big time gaming and heavy multi-tasking is simply out. Unlike most Netbooks, there is no inbuilt Wi-Fi (only Ethernet port) for internet connection present. You have to rely on external USB Wi-Fi dongle for wireless connectivity. The provided cordless keyboard and mouse combo (iBall) works fine from across the room (10 feet). But beyond that, the mouse falters. Another thing that disappointed me is that the PC display works only up to a resolution of 1280X1024 and not at the native HD resolution of 1080p. But still you can read or write fine text, browse web, interact on social sites or watch videos on YouTube from a slight distance. Though the PC is very basic, but still it s a very innovative add-on for the people who download a lot of multimedia content from the net for viewing later. All the interface connectors, and there are plenty of them, are placed on the rear and left side of the rear panel. There are two HDMI, six USB2, one S-Video, one D-Sub VGA, one component video, one RF input for cable, one RCA, one Ethernet, one 3.5mm audio out for headphones and one Optical port present. There also is one blazing red push button to power-on the PC. And to conjure this two-in-one wonder, there also is a very sleek and contoured remote. As a TV+ PC combo this VU Intelligent TV has a big brag value, bigger than its MRP of Rs 69,990.